Aviation start-up Lilium to go public through SPAC deal with ex-GM executive
German aviation start-up Lilium has agreed to go public through a merger with Qell Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company founded by former General Motors executive Barry Engle.
It's the latest deal for the urban air mobility industry following announced SPAC agreements including Archer Aviation and Joby Aviation. A SPAC is a blank-check company, formed as an alternative to an IPO, because it raises funds to buy something but doesn't have any operations of its own. They have no assets other than cash and they trade on a stock exchange before merging with private companies.
The transaction, which officials announced Tuesday, implies a pro-forma enterprise value of $2.4 billion and a pro-forma equity value of $3.3 billion for the combined company. The post-merged company is expected to receive approximately $830 million from the deal, including $450 million from a fully committed common stock PIPE offering and $380 million cash held in trust.
The deal is expected to close in the second quarter, at which point the combined company will trade on the Nasdaq exchange under LILM.
